K Za Win
K Za Win | |
|---|---|
| ကိုကေဇဝင်း | |
| Born | Chanthar Swe 1982 |
| Died | 3 March 2021 (aged 38–39) |
| Occupations |
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K Za Win (Burmese: ကိုကေဇဝင်း; 1982 – 3 March 2021) was a Burmese poet and former Buddhist monk, best known for his collection of long-form poems, My Reply to Ramon.[1]
Early life and education[edit]
K Za Win was born Chanthar Swe (ချမ်းသာဆွေ) in 1982 in the town of Letpadaung, Sagaing Division, Burma to a peasant family.[2][3][4] His family lost land to the Letpadaung Copper Mine, a Chinese-owned mine.[5]
Career[edit]
He published his first poem at the age of 16, in a school magazine.[2] K Za Win became an activist, involved in educational reform and land rights. He participated in student-led protests to reform Myanmar's educational system, in opposition to the Myanmar National Education Law 2014.[6][2] On 10 March 2015, he was jailed at Tharrawaddy Prison for over a year.[3] He was a member of the Monywa Poet's Union.[7]
In the aftermath of the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état, he organised anti-coup demonstrations in Monywa.[2] On 3 March, security forces killed him by gunfire, after firing at a crowd of protesters in Monywa.[2][1] He became one of at least four prominent poets, alongside Myint Myint Zin, Khet Thi, and Sein Win, to be killed that month.[5]
References[edit]
- ^ a b "K Za Win". Adi magazine. Retrieved 2023-02-28.
- ^ a b c d e "Protest drove a generation to Myanmar's streets. Military crackdowns sent hundreds to their deaths". Reuters. Retrieved 2023-02-28.
- ^ a b Ko Ko Thett. "In memory of poet K Za Win (1982-2021)". The Green Violin. Retrieved 2023-02-28.
- ^ Beech, Hannah (2021-05-25). "Where Poets Are Being Killed and Jailed After a Military Coup". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2023-03-01.
- ^ a b Ratcliffe, Rebecca (2021-05-17). "'Revolution dwells in the heart': Myanmar's poets cut down by the military". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2023-02-28.
- ^ Ko Ko Thett. "a letter from a jail cell". THE GREEN VIOLIN. Retrieved 2023-02-28.
- ^ "Myanmar: Two poets among dozens of unarmed protestors killed by military junta". PEN International. 2021-03-05. Archived from the original on 2022-09-30.